Bathrooms and Toilets

Shawn Poynter for The New York Times

News about Bathrooms and Toilets, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Feb. 25, 2015

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announces completion of 'restroom rehabilitation project,' part of $90 million initiative to improve Manhattan's Port Authority Bus Terminal; notoriously grimy second floor restrooms are now clean and modern. MORE

Feb. 12, 2015

Market Ready Q&A on whether or not bold wallpaper in powder rooms will help sell house. MORE

Jan. 22, 2015

Jan. 18, 2015

West Hollywood, Calif, passes ordinance abolishing designations of 'men' or 'women' on single stall public restrooms in effort to make transgender residents feel more comfortable. MORE

Jan. 17, 2015

Allison Arieff Op-Ed article describes effort led by Hyphae Design Lab to design and build public restrooms in San Francisco, which shows how design projects can address problems that arise as result of issues like homelessness. MORE

Jan. 8, 2015

Market Ready Q&A on whether to replace bathroom's entire floor or just the damaged tiles before selling a home. MORE

Nov. 13, 2014

New high-rise apartments in Manhattan increasingly include large windows in bathrooms, giving owners expansive views over city and privacy from all but birds. MORE

Oct. 28, 2014

Major study in journal The Lancet shows that providing latrines to poor communities in India does little to reduce diarrhea and parasites or improve children's growth; findings run counter to expectations of those who advocate for the building of latrines for public health. MORE

Oct. 16, 2014

Bob Tedeschi The Pragmatist column gives tips for remodeling your own bathroom. MORE

Oct. 8, 2014

Plain clothes police officers patrolling Port Authority Bus Terminal men's room are arresting an average of two people per week on charges of public lewdness or exposure, accusing most of them of masturbating at urinals; several of those arrested are represented by Legal Aid Society, which maintains men are innocent victims of aggressive and intrusive police tactics. MORE

Oct. 8, 2014

Jim Dwyer About New York column holds that lack of handicap restroom on floor of Manhattan criminal courthouse where prisoners are held is travesty and dehumanizes people; highlights credit card scammer Banetta Grant, who uses wheelchair and was unable to use restroom while waiting to appear in court. MORE

Sep. 18, 2014

Market Ready column answers question about removing safety features in bathrooms before selling home. MORE

Aug. 17, 2014

Trinity Episcopal Church and St Paul's Chapel in Downtown Manhattan have found themselves de facto restrooms for growing number of visitors in area, as tourist numbers have exploded and public facilities have not kept pace; churches consider their bathrooms important service to public, though they sometimes ponder if access should be limited. MORE

Aug. 9, 2014

Alina Tugend Shortcuts column; market for vintage toilet parts is more robust than many people think, and several online companies are cashing in on customers who wish to replace parts for older model toilets. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

Advertising column; Masco Corporation's Delta Faucets is marketing its kitchen and bathroom fixtures through an appeal to cut loose and get dirty, then rely on Delta for cleaning up. MORE

Jul. 17, 2014

Jul. 4, 2014

Toilet breaks for players at Grand Slam tennis events like Wimbledon are increasingly debated topic in top levels of the sport, with some questioning whether players are simply using request to buy time, clear the mind or alter an opponent's momentum. MORE

Jun. 12, 2014

Market Ready column answers question of whether steam shower is worth expense of installing when it comes to selling home. MORE

Apr. 10, 2014

Designer Elisa Giovannoni has created Scaletta, aluminum bathroom towel rack and warmer; item is manufactured by Tubes Radiatori. MORE

Mar. 20, 2014

American Standard has opened a New York showroom to display its DXV collection of bath and kitchen fixtures; name and styles refer to company’s 15 decades. MORE

Feb. 20, 2014

Salish Sea, wood bathtub by Port Townsend, Wash, woodworker Seth Rolland, is available for $28,000. MORE

Feb. 20, 2014

Market Ready Q&A on whether shower curtain or glass door in bathroom adds more value to home. MORE

Feb. 6, 2014

Designer John Beckmann shops around Manhattan for bathroom sinks with interesting fixtures and finishes. MORE

Jan. 16, 2014

Fixing broken toilet is not difficult if one knows few basic rules; experts weigh in with advice. MORE

Jan. 16, 2014

Dec. 15, 2013

Stephanie Rosenbloom The Getaway column on sizing up and tracking trends of the hotel bathroom, from shower heads to lighting and mirrors. MORE

Nov. 28, 2013

Market Ready Q&A offers advice on how to decrease bathroom clutter to make a home more attractive to buyers. MORE

Nov. 19, 2013

Op-Ed article by environmental engineer Jason Kass argues that in attempting to aid the 2.5 billion people who do not have access to working toilets, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has put an absurd and wasteful emphasis on complicated technological innovation; suggests simple, low-tech solutions have a far likelier chance of solving the problem. MORE

Nov. 9, 2013

Tradition of restroom attendants at finer New York City establishments seems to be fading; younger customers say attendants are antiquated and useless, but some restaurants and bars say they are of value and are keeping them in place. MORE

Sep. 26, 2013

Market Ready Q&A on best way to renovate bathroom with ugly shower stall. MORE

Aug. 13, 2013

Instead of treating showers as utilitarian afterthoughts, some hotels are getting creative when it comes to getting wet. MORE

May. 2, 2013

Tiling bathroom floor is good project for those with intermediate level skills and hefty dose of planning-ability and patience. MORE

Apr. 19, 2013

World Bank will honor three winners of its Sanitation Hackathon, competition to find technological solutions that address poor sanitation and hygiene in third world; winning projects address access to functional toilets and clean water, among other issues. MORE

Apr. 15, 2013

Residents of Oceana, luxury apartment complex in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, file lawsuit in attempt to halt construction of a public restroom along the boardwalk, claiming structure will block their luxury condominium ocean views; restroom is to replace one that was underneath the boardwalk and destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. MORE

Mar. 12, 2013

Within five years, the city will replace 40,000 toilets at public schools with new low-flow versions that should save four million gallons of water each day. MORE

Dec. 29, 2012

Op-Ed article by author Rose George contends discriminatory taboos associated with menstruation in India often do real harm; notes many Indian schools have filthy latrines, forcing teenage girls, tired of dealing with needing a bathroom, to drop out of school; says basic lavatory facilities are one of the easiest ways to keep Indian girls in school after they reach puberty. MORE

Dec. 27, 2012

Perle faucet, designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon for Four Seasons Hotel Georges V in Paris, is being produced by THG and will be available in United States at Grande Central Showrooms of New York in January. MORE

Nov. 27, 2012

Science Q&A on whether germs escape into the air when a toilet is flushed. MORE

Sep. 6, 2012

Aug. 21, 2012

Amendments to New York City codes allow restaurants and cafes with an occupancy of 30 people or fewer to provide patrons with one unisex bathroom rather than a restroom for each gender, as previously required; rule shift means that the public bathrooms of New York, a vexingly elusive quarry, could become harder still to find. MORE

Aug. 16, 2012

R W Atlas Collection, a 30-piece group of bath fittings designed by Roman & Williams for Waterworks, has a strong industrial sensibility. MORE

Aug. 9, 2012

Market Ready Q&A offers advice on whether to keep or replace the original bathroom plumbing fixtures and fittings in a prewar apartment before selling. MORE

Jun. 17, 2012

FYI column answers question about housefly image that appears at the bottom of the men's room urinals in Terminal 4 in Kennedy Airport. MORE

Jun. 15, 2012

Mumbai Journal; social advocates in Mumbai promote a campaign called the Right to Pee to demand that women, who often pay a fee to use indoor toilets, are given free access to bathrooms like men have; group argues that the lack of indoor toilets across the country not only poses health and sanitation problems, but also exposes blatant discrimination against women. MORE

May. 17, 2012

Market Ready Q&A offers homeowners suggestions for inexpensively sprucing up a bathroom before a sale. MORE

May. 6, 2012

Character Study column on John Henry Byas, Queens resident who has been waging a 30-year crusade to bring public bathrooms to a busy section of Kissena Corridor Park; Byas has finally succeeded and toilets are scheduled to open by September. MORE

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More than five million Chinese were estimated to have traveled abroad over the Lunar New Year holiday that ended on Wednesday, a 10 percent increase over the year before and the first time Chinese tourists bound for foreign lands outnumbered those...

The authorities in southern China have seized about 8,000 rolls of toilet paper containing unflattering images of Hong Kong’s chief executive, according to an official of the small political party that placed the order.

The multimedia presentations below are from the Times archives, and contain items that may no longer be available from the merchandisers, and at the prices, indicated. They are offered as ideas and possibilities.